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The Problem with Cheap Paint .....

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P8ntballer.Com

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Mar 31, 2009
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Our sport is inundated with examples of false economies; from instances such as players expecting cut-price markers thus undermining our sport’s retail business to the more insidious low cost paint that is often sold.
Our sport’s teams face a significant expenditure when wishing to play events - entry fees - travel - hotels and paint to name but a few.

It’s obvious the market-place supports all sorts of paint but generally speaking we can assume that you get what you pay for .. bottom line is though, good paint can win you games but bad paint can most definitely lose you games and events.
The purchasing of bad paint is probably the most glaring of our sport’s false economies.
There are teams however that enjoy subsidised paint and even a few that gets all their paint for free but the whole ethos of paint sponsorship has had the ass ripped out of it because of the contraction of our market-place.
No longer can teams attract the somewhat unwarranted paint deals of yesteryear which forces teams to scour the paintball landscape for cheap paint.

The few teams who do receive these paint deals are the legacy of that once misguided marketing initiative that had us believe teams were a serious proposition when it came to brand promotion.

Now, it’s all well and good if the paint is ok but what happens when the paint is sh!te?
What options then confront a team when the sponsored paint they are using is costing them games?
Teams face the following dilemma, do they continue to use sponsored paint knowing full well the use of their sponsored paint will cost them games and in so doing scupper any chance of winning the event ..or …. they can look elsewhere for an alternative supply that generally means they will be looking to purchase paint from their sponsor’s competition.
This year’s millennium has borne witness to this situation several times, especially in the recent event in Paris.

The irony is, if a team faces such a dilemma and sources paint from companies other than the company they have the sponsor deal with and then go onto win or place in the event, then no mention is made of the paint that was actually used; in fact, should a team place in an event using someone else’s paint then the original sponsor company gains the benefit of their competitor’s paint when their own wasn’t up to scratch.
This is obviously unfair but sometimes life’s like that but things have now been brought to a head.

In Paris this year one manufacturer, GI Sportz, took the stance of refusing to supply paint to teams that had problems with their own sponsored paint brands.

Their reason?

They felt aggrieved at the prospect of the team who bought their paint indulging themselves in post event promotion being focussed upon the sponsored brand and not the brand the team actually used.
The thinking behind this move was, if GI Sportz spend the time and effort in ensuring their paint is up to scratch and stored in appropriate conditions, then why should other paint companies reap the post-event promotion if said team does well?
P8ntballer.com asked the people at GI Sportz if this policy was going to be adhered to next year and their response was a resounding ‘yes’.
GI Sportz went on to say, ‘we’ve got no problem in helping teams and players out but what we will be doing is drawing a line when it comes to being the victim of commercial shenanigans after the event has been played.
There were instances in Paris whereby paint was supplied to teams but this was on the strict basis of, GI Sportz were to be the sole beneficiary of any resulting credits directed toward the paint that was used.

An example of this was team Offenbach Comin at Ya who went on to win the SPL, an improvement from 17th at the previous event.
The deserved acclamation was offered by the team when they accepted their first place trophy and made it clear the paint they used was one of the reasons they were able to win.
Teams are now being forced to research what paint has the best track record; after all, what’s the point in spending all that money on travel and hotels just to lose an event because you bought cheap paint …
 

Liam92

#16 Reading Entity
Nov 4, 2009
2,370
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Glasgow, Scotland
The thinking behind G.I.'s policy is spot on to be fair. it speaks for itself when you see the same brands of paint appearing on the podium and so we all know it makes and breaks teams. quite frankly it's only fair that those responsible for a teams success are rewarded accordingly.
 

Markie C

Carlos Spicy Weiner
Aug 1, 2004
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Northern Quarter
www.northernquarterpb.com
I really don't get it?

So who was this other paint supplier then? why so cloak and dagger about it if they are pissed then they should name the company or team who it was shouldn't they?

I know for a fact that we came 1st 3 times out of the 4 tournaments we played this year because of our paint and we used KEE/RPS plus all the other stuff like markers.

It seems like a vailed attmept to bring this issue up but they should name names so other people know.
 

Spike

Platinum Member
Nov 11, 2001
663
31
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Essex, England
www.GIMILSIM.com
This policy is no different to the policy we had for teams who only wanted our paint for Sunday onwards when we were responsible for procaps.

In the past I know the GI distribution have always tried to help out friends within the industry, something I was always against, but losing out to associated sales at the next event that can go with podium positions.

I think most people know the brands and teams that were having problems this season and for GI to name and shame would be unprofessional. Players have a choice to make and they need to make it based upon their own experiences, not just what one company says.

This extend to markers as well as paint too.
 

Missy-Q

300lb of Chocolate Love
Jul 31, 2007
2,524
1,132
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Harlem, NY
Personally I think they've got some right cheek putting this out.

Let's just say I have a memory that lasts more than 5 years, and I'll leave it at that.
 

shoaibaktar

Well-Known Member
Jun 14, 2011
410
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same name as big Sottish football club from Glasgow .........still not got it well it was,nt Rangers
 
Oct 5, 2002
1,262
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Sauf Koast
When I used to work in the industry 5 years or so ago we had the luxury of being able to pick between 20+ pallets/batches of top tourney and mid tourney grade paint before each major event, we used to leave boxes outside and in car boots for a few days to see how the paint changed outside the warehouse in more of a real life situation, maybe the smaller vendors just don't have that luxury and the best they have at the time might be a shocker of a batch.
 
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